Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was once again featured on
Time magazine´s annual list of the world´s most influential people,
along with a host of other prominent political and cultural figures.

In a column written for the magazine, Jewish Republican Congressman
and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor praised Netanyahu for
his "transformational" leadership. "Benjamin Netanyahu is one of
these iconic Israelis, a strong, determined leader who has excelled
during a lifetime of service to the state of Israel," wrote Cantor.

"He deserves credit for drawing attention to the threat Iran poses to
Israel, to America, to the region, to its own people and to the free
world… At this perilous moment, Prime Minister Netanyahu is the right
leader for Israel — and the right partner for America," Cantor
concludes.

Netanyahu also made the list in 2011, but the column written in his
honor then was less effusive. "I´ve known Bibi for decades. We have
clashed, and we have agreed," wrote Council on Foreign Relations
President Richard Haas. "

"Like almost everyone else, I find him hard to read. He is on record
supporting a demilitarized Palestinian state. But few details have
been filled in. We will soon learn more. Nothing less than his
legacy — and more important, the future of the Jewish state — is at
stake," he wrote.

Many of those who were featured in Time magazine´s list of "The 100
most influential people in the world" in 2011 did not make it onto
the list this year.